Chapter Thirty-Eight
Blade
Imay have gone overboard with all the weapons I currently have strapped to my body, but fuck if I was coming to this meeting unprepared. If need be, I want to have enough weapons to take out everyone Sabbatini has brought with him. If it means protecting Sera, I will kill them all with no hesitation.
Wrath looks over as we walk into Inferno”s, eyeing me warily. No doubt guessing I’m probably covered in weapons. He knows me well enough to know I wouldn’t be walking in here without a way to kill as many people as possible if I need to. Especially when it’s about protecting the woman I love. People thought I was lethal before Sera; that’s nothing compared to what I am now. I’d destroy the world if it meant keeping her safe.
Right now, there’s no staff here, but that won’t be the case for much longer. By the time this meeting is over, they will all have arrived. Shadow doesn’t seem worried right now, but I’m sure that won’t be the case by the end. Megan will be here then, and he made it pretty clear last night that he was worried about her being in the same space as Sabbatini. I’m not going to worry about that; Sabbatini doesn’t care about any of our staff. He wants my woman.
We have a plan as far as Megan is concerned. Not one of us has informed Shadow, though; this isn’t about his relationship per se; it’s about her attitude at work. So as soon as Sabbatini is dealt with, we’ll be moving on to our issue with Megan. Shadow isn’t going to like it, but he’s going to have to suck it up. His girlfriend”s behavior can’t continue; sooner or later, it’s going to affect the rest of the staff, and we can’t have that.
We all head to the table in the back corner. Wrath taking a seat on one side with Shadow next to him. The rest of us stay standing and position ourselves close by. Flame is the only one of us standing right next to Wrath and Shadow. No doubt to make sure his husband is protected. He’s extra cautious nowadays, after all they’ve been through. I don’t blame him. I’d be the same way with Sera.
Five minutes later, the doors open, and in walks Sabbatini and his entourage. He’s come with five men, which is surprising; I was expecting more. There”s no doubt he’s left the rest of his men outside. Probably realizing that walking in with some sort of show of force isn’t the smartest move after what happened last time he did that. They’re all wearing black suits, looking like the mobsters they are. Sabbatini is the only one not in black; he’s wearing a clearly custom-tailored gray suit with a black shirt. My guess is that it’s all designer; no way would he walk around in anything that didn’t cost a fortune. He likes people to know he has money.
They approach where we all are, their eyes scanning the room. No doubt looking for additional threats, they won’t find any. The only threats in this room right now are us. Sabbatini should know Wrath doesn’t play games.
Sabbatini takes a seat opposite Wrath, a giant smile on his face. All I want to do is reach over and smack it off his face.
“Good morning, Wrath.” He says in greeting.
“Morning Sabbatini.” Wrath replies, showing why he’s President. I couldn’t sit there and play nice like this. I’d have already attacked if I were in Wrath’s position.
“So where”s my woman?” Sabbatini asks.
Before I can move, I feel a hand clamp down on my shoulder. Hard. Eagle. He’s the only one who’s probably brave enough to try to stop me right now. If I didn’t have so much respect for him, I’d shove him away.
”Well, she’s not your woman now; is she Sabbatini? Are you really delusional enough to believe I’d hand over my sister to you?”
“We both know I paid good money for her.”
”Yeah, about that. Patricia is unfortunately no longer with us, so your little deal is null and void.”
Sabbatini’s eyes widen slightly in shock, but that’s the only reaction he shows. “That’s unfortunate. I’m sorry for the loss of your mother.”
Both Wrath and Shadow can’t help themselves; they laugh. Neither of them sees Patricia as their mother.
“We all know she was little more than an egg donation. So cut the crap.” Wrath says as he sobers up.
“Fine. I want what I paid for, Wrath. It matters not to me that she’s your sister.”
My temper is rising, and I’m ready to lose my shit at this slimy motherfucker.
“I’d hoped you’d just back off Sabbatini, but clearly you have no sense. So I’ll give you two options. Back off and forget Sera exists or don”t, and I’ll use every resource and every ally to destroy your empire, leaving you with nothing.”
“You really think you could destroy my empire, Wrath? Don’t be delusional.”
“I’m not; I know I can. I’m a lot more powerful than I was the last time we met Sabbatini. I have allies everywhere, including other people who run more in your circles than mine, and I’ve already spoken to them all. They’re willing to help end you. Do you really want to take that risk?”
Sabbatini’s eyes fill with hatred. He’s not as stupid as he might seem; he knows Wrath isn’t lying. He can tell by how he’s acting.
”Oh, and Sabbatini.” Wrath says, drawing his attention again, “If that wasn’t enough of a deterrent, you should also know Sera is an Ol’ Lady to a member too.”
“Who?” He asks curiously.
Eagle lets me go now, letting me get closer. Stopping at the side of the table, blocking Sabbatini’s ability to stand. He glances over at me, no doubt wondering who had the nerve to step up to him.
“That would be me.”
Sabbatini’s eyes fill with fear at my words, and I really do want to laugh at him. I know why he’s having that reaction. I was with Wrath at their last meeting, and he saw firsthand just what I can do.
“Threat noted, Blade.” Sabbatini says with a nod. “I will back off. Sera is safe from me.”
Wrath holds his hand out across the table and says, “Pleasure doing business with you.”
Sabbatini shakes Wrath’s hand. I move back, letting him stand. He starts to walk out with his head held high, even though this meeting was an utter failure for him. I don’t care, though; Sera is safe, and that’s all that matters.
Just after Sabbatini leaves, the staff starts filling in from the staff corridor. Megan is leading the way. They all come to an abrupt halt when they see us all here. Every member of staff looks shocked by our presence.
”Oh, we didn’t realize you were all here. Is everything okay?” Megan asks, becoming the voice of the staff.
“Everything’s fine; we just had a meeting this morning.” Wrath responds as he stands.
“Is there anything we need to be worried about?” Megan asks.
Either she’s worried because we had a meeting here at the nightclub or she’s being fucking nosy. I think everyone is thinking the same thing, even Shadow, who looks nervous. Not that I blame him.
”No, it’s nothing any of you need to worry about.” Wrath says, as he starts to leave, the rest of us follow him.
We all come to an abrupt halt when Megan says, ”Shadow, can I speak to you?”
“Why do you need to speak to Shadow? He’s not your boss; Eagle is.” Wrath says before Shadow can speak.
It’s obvious Wrath has decided he’s going to play Megan, and I don’t fucking blame him. All of us have turned back around to face Megan, waiting for her reply. From the look on her face, she has no idea what to say now.
Letting out a sigh, Shadow says, ”Megan, they know.”
Megan’s eyes quickly flash with displeasure before she wipes the look away. I’m not sure if anyone else caught it; it was that fast.
Placing her hands on her hips, she demands, “How?”
Despite not liking the fact he kept secrets, I can’t help but come to Shadow’s defense. It’s not like he actually told anyone; I figured it out.
“I figured it out. So technically, he never went against your wishes.”
“Oh. Is that why you canceled last night?”
That earns her a laugh from everyone but Shadow. We all know the reason he canceled on her last night was Wreck.
“Why is that funny?” Megan asks, annoyed.
“They’re just being dicks, Meg.” Shadow says, shooting us all dirty looks.
”No, we’re all laughing because we all know the reason you canceled on her, and it wasn’t because any of us found out.” Wrath says, while shooting his brother a warning look,
“Then why?” Megan says, looking pissed.
“Because he was in shit with Wreck for keeping your secret.” Wrath says, flashing Megan a look of displeasure.
“You canceled on me for a friend!” Megan shouts.
Oh shit. She’s not fucking happy at all. Does she not know how important Wreck is to Shadow? I find that very fucking unlikely.
“He’s more than just a friend, Megan, and you know that. I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. You have a job to do, and we’ve got somewhere to be. We can talk about this later in private.” Shadow says, and then turns and leaves. Megan stands there, mouth agape, in surprise. I guess she’d never seen him this way before.
We all follow Shadow out and towards our bikes, hopping on and setting off towards Devil’s Ink to let everyone know what happened. I couldn’t be more relieved that I get to tell Sera that Sabbatini isn’t going to be a problem anymore.